Kenny’s face was as scarlet as the feathers on a redbird’s cap. “I …
I mean … I …”
“My goodness, Kenny, spit it out. There’s no shame in having a bad swing. Lord knows Sal goes to the driving range to practice his all the time. He told me the swing is one of the most important elements in golf.’’
My cousin and I exchanged a look. “Are you going to tell Mama it’s a different kind of swinging, or should we?’’ I asked Kenny.
Silently, he shook his head.
Henry and I took turns revealing to her what we’d discovered: About the sexual swingers’ club; how the mayor and his wife were members; that Jason, the pro, and Angel, the barmaid, were also involved.
Mama’s face had paled. The heavy purse hung forgotten from one limp arm.
“The reason Henry asked if Kenny was involved is that they meet out at his camp near the county line,’’ I told her.
Throughout, Kenny’s eyes had remained fixed on the parking lot pavement. At the mention of his camp, he raised his head. “I didn’t invite them, and I didn’t want them there. But once I got involved with …” his voice tapered off.
“I know who you were cheating with,’’ I said.
His head shot up. He slid off the sunglasses to look at me.
“D’Vora saw you with her in your truck out at the lake.’’
Mama, startled from her trance, asked, “Who’s ‘her’?’’
“Camilla.’’
I heard her gasp when I said that name.
Kenny nodded. “She was at the center of the whole swingers’ group, but I didn’t know that. Once I started … seeing … Camilla, Jason threatened me. One day, when I took him and the mayor’s wife out to the shooting range, he cornered me and said he’d tell Maddie about Camilla if I didn’t let them use the camp for parties.’’
“Did you?’’ Henry asked.
Kenny’s voice was barely a whisper. “Yes. Camilla kept pushing me to party with them, but I wouldn’t do that. I only told them how to get to the camp and where I hid the key.’’
Henry lifted one eyebrow, the same one he used in the courtroom when he wanted the jury to believe a witness on the stand was lying.
Kenny raised his right hand. “I’m telling you the God’s honest truth.’’
“I don’t think God had much to do with this,’’ Mama said.
“I felt awful,’’ he continued. “All I could think was how hurt Maddie would be.’’
He sneaked a glance at Mama. Arms folded tight across her chest, she simply shook her head. He sniffed, knuckled at an eye.
“Unfortunately, you’ll have the chance to find out just how much you hurt her,’’ I said.
“I know y’all won’t believe this, but I was only with Camilla …
in that way … the one time. She started flirting around with me at the golf course. A few times, she sat down while I was having lunch or dinner. She complimented me. She tried to kiss me. It made me feel like I was young again. Sexy.’’
Kenny took a deep breath. His voice shook when he continued. “We hadn’t had sex until that night at the lake.’’
“Whose idea was that?’’ Henry asked.
“I swear it wasn’t mine. Camilla asked me to drive her to Lake Okeechobee to see the sunset. She just about jumped me when we got there, doing things I’d never dreamed a woman would do.’’ His face reddened. “I couldn’t resist.’’
“Was she wearing that outfit we found her in at the dump?’’ I asked.
I saw a gleam of comprehension in Mama’s eyes. She butted in. “When exactly was this you were with Camilla at the lake?’’
He’d clamped his lips shut again; his eyes cast down.
The gleam became a flash. “Oh my Lord Jesus! You’re not just a cheater, you’re a murderer, too.” Mama clutched her throat. Her face had turned grayish-yellow. “I’m going to be sick.’’
And she was, all over Kenny’s shoes.
forty
Mama dabbed her lips with a pineapple sherbet-colored hankie. She must have eaten a big breakfast, because the delicate handkerchief wasn’t up to the task. I handed her a super-sized bandana from my back pocket.
I figured the vomit all over Kenny’s shoes was his punishment for cheating. My cousin, though, took pity on him. He ran to his wife’s minivan to get Kenny some wet wipes. It was either sympathy, or Henry had a lower tolerance for nasty smells than I did.
“How could you think I’d murder that girl, Rosalee?’’ Kenny scrubbed at one shoe, his voice tight with hurt. “As long as you’ve known me?’’
Mama turned her back on him.
Henry said, “We all thought we knew you, Kenny. If I’ve learned one thing from all these years practicing law, it’s that any man—or woman—has the capacity to surprise those who know and love them.’’
Kenny scrubbed even harder, shredding the paper wipe against his shoe.
“Camilla was alive when I dropped her off at her house; and she wasn’t wearing any kind of black leather getup, either.’’
Brakes hissed in the road. A horn blared on a tractor trailer hauling sugar cane. I waited until the big truck rumbled past, narrowly missing an oblivious tourist in a rental car.
“What about the text you sent to Maddie?” I quoted it word-for-word, since it was seared into my heart the moment I’d read it: “I did something terrible. I don’t think you can forgive me. I’m so sorry.’’
Kenny’s mouth dropped open. The paper wipe went still against his shoe. “That was private, Mace!’’
“Yeah, well, sorry if I offended your ‘privacy’ by trying to help my sister patch together her shattered life.’’
“That message had nothing to do with anything except the fact guilt was eating me up because I’d cheated. I betrayed my wife, the only woman I ever loved. That’s what I was saying I was sorry for!’’
Mama turned, cocking her head at Kenny. Her expression told me she was judging his story.
He looked at each of us in turn. It seemed he was trying to gauge whether we believed him. I wasn’t sure if I did or not. He’d shaken my faith. Not just in him, either. In all men. The fact I couldn’t tell if my brother-in-law was lying troubled me more than I wanted to let on to Mama or Henry.
Finally, Mama spoke up. “I’m angry at you, son. What you did to Maddie makes you low enough to walk under a trundle bed wearing a ten-gallon hat. But I don’t believe you killed anybody, either.’’
I heard a whoosh of air escape, as if Kenny had been holding his breath. He moved toward Mama with his arms outstretched for a hug.
“Not so fast.’’ She took a step back. “I want to know how you’re going to fix this. How much trouble is he in, Henry?’’
My cousin stroked his chin, thinking. “He’d be in a lot less trouble if there was somebody else who saw Camilla after he did. What time did you drop her back home after you left the lake, Kenny?’’
“Right before eight o’clock. I wanted to get back to the motel in time to watch that reality show I like about the bounty hunters.’’
“How appropriate,’’ Henry said. “Let’s hope you don’t end up starring in a real-life episode.’’
I was surprised to hear Kenny had anted up the cash to get a room. It did explain, though, why I couldn’t find him. Given his reluctance to open his wallet, I hadn’t even thought to look for him at the handful of accommodations in the area.
“Where’ve you been staying?’’ I asked.
He pressed his lips together; put his sunglasses back on.
“Mace asked you a question,’’ Mama said.
He turned his face my way. The sun glinted off the dark lenses of his glasses. “How do I know you’re not going to send Carlos after me?’’
“Believe me, if this whole mess didn’t involve Maddie, you’d already be sitting, dripping sweat, in his suspect’s chair.’’ I ran my fingers through my hair; encountered snarls. “Before it becomes common knowledge, I’m going to tell my sister what’s been going on. I owe her that. In the meantime, you ought to talk to Henry about the best way to frame all this when you do sit down to talk to Carlos.’’